The New Razer Blade FHD vs. The New Razer Blade QHD+ (Questions)

First of all, sorry if I misled you guys to think that this is a review. But this is not, I've been going back and forth deciding which one would be better for me. (My primary usage would be using for studying, as I'm a computer science student, and most definitely gaming.) I decided to post a thread asking you lot some opinion. I was planning on posting in the "What Notebook Should I Buy?" section but I feel like this thread belongs here.

I've never own a gaming machine before. Be it notebook or desktop. I am currently using MacMini. (yes, I game with this. Don't judge me ) With that in mind, I never played any hardcore demanding game. The only one I played is Tomb Raider, with low to mid settings, getting (as all would have guessed) 30fps or so. I'm currently on the FHD side, but I need some clarification before pressing that "TAKE ALL MY MONEY" green button.

Into the question regarding these two models. I acknowledge the difference in specs and panel. But I want to know what those difference translate into real usage.

1. Panels : Researching a bit into these panels, I found out that the FHD gives better viewing angle than the QHD+. The QHD+ is stunningly beautiful, but I am fairly fine with 1080p display. (or should I reconsider just because of "dem pixels"?) I've seen somewhere (I'll update later when I found it) that the FHD generally gives better FPS in games than QHD+ when running native resolution. Is it something to think about?
2. RAM : 8GB (FHD) vs. 16GB (QHD+). Is 8GB too little? Will it affect the overall performance? I do, once in awhile so some video editing. Opinion?
3. Battery life : In theory, with a non-touch screen 1080p display, it would last longer than the 3200x1800 touch screen. Right? I can't seem to find any strong evidence regarding this. Or there isn't much difference?

What do guys think? Thank you in advance for those you are willing to share their opinions with me.

Edit : Below is the picture with FPS comparison I mention earlier between FHD model (top one with green highlights) and the QHD+ model (bottom one).

 

just my 2 cents.. i own the FHD, and briefly owned the QHD.. i did find the viewing angles better on the FHD.. coming from the retina MacBook Pro.. i was not impressed at all with the QHD panel Razer uses. it's this coating they use that gives it a bit of a fuzzyness to it. others don't mind it at all tho, so it depends on how sensitive you are to that. i believe there's another member who recently found the same results also after having both. 8gb is enough if you're not doing heavy video encoding or more demanding multitasking. i figure by the time i'd need more 2 years or so from now (my usual upgrade pattern).. it'll be time to upgrade anyway. but for gaming and daily use.. it's enough for now. of course 16gb would be great, but Razer wants to be greedy and not give us that option. the witcher 3 will be my first real test of how the 8gb holds, but i believe even that says 6gb will be sufficient. as far as battery life.. i get an avg of about 6hrs on the FHD.. usually more pixels = more power to use = less battery life.. but i hear the QHD panel is actually good with power efficiency. i only had the QHD for a couple of days, so i didn't have enough time to properly do a battery rundown test.

 

Like ledzepp14, I too had the QHD+ version and sent it back for the FHD. The FHD display is much clearer to me and has better off angle viewing. As for the 8GB it will probably be a problem some day, but in the near future or even a couple years down the road I don't see it as an issue for both gaming and moderate heavy lifting. I will be upgrading to another machine before I will ever worry about the 8GB of RAM. The battery life on the FHD version is solid. Not like my MacBook Pro 13, but for a Windows gaming machine it is a good 5-6 hrs of casual to moderate use. I didn't test the QHD version.

 

I recommend you check out the QHD+ version in a Microsoft Store if you can. The viewing angel is not great compared to MacBook, but I don't think it's horrible either, so it really depends on how sensitive you are to this issue.

And how long are you planning to keep this machine? Personally, I am planning to keep my QHD+ for 4+ years (my last laptop last me 4.5 years) so having that extra RAM is better down the road IMO (I might have to dial down the graphic as well down the road, but I am fine with it).

I haven't really test the battery extensively, but I was down to about 82% on battery with roughly 1 hour of surfacing the web and watch youtube with 2 notch of brightness. So I think it should last 5 hours easily. But again it's a rough test, so your mileage might vary.

 

1) I have the QHD panel and I like it. I very much prefer the sharper screen and I find the viewing angles to be good.
2) 8 GB is fine now but you may need 16 GB for future games or video editing.
3) From what I have heard, battery life is close to identical because the QHD panel has very little power consumption. On my tests, I got a little over 5 hours of continuous Netflix streaming and 7 hours of light browsing.

 

Thank you for the replies guys. Knowing that 8GB would be suffice, put me at ease. 5-6 hours IMO is fairly good. I'm now more confident on choosing the FHD.

 

May i ask? If i were to make the purchase, isn't it better from the razer site?
Continuing on the QHD+ , I've updated my post with a FPS comparison. I'm not entirely sure how legit that source is, but I'd assume it's true. The FHD maintain a higher FPS than QHD+ (seems logical because the QHD+ is running 3200x1800 native resolution). My question is, should I really choose the QHD+ model over the FHD because of the gorgeous screen and extra RAM regardless of the FPS comparison. I know the FPS on the QHD+ is still playable, but (maybe?) the extra FPS would be great. I would love to have the beautiful QHD+ screen, but at the same time, I really don't mind with the 1080p. The touch screen feature just doesn't attract me that much, I would probably just use it once awhile.

 

microsoft store has a 10% student discount + another 5% if you sign up its text message promotion, so its a very good deal. Also, they have 30 days return policy and a cheap 1 year accidental warranty ($150 i think). Razer has only 15 days return policy (restocking fee?) and the extended warranty cost $299? However, the FHD is only available through razer, and MS only has the QHD+ 256gb ssd and 512gb ssd (no 128 gb ssd).

Regarding FPS, I think you will have to dial down the resolution on the QHD+. I think even the gtx 980m will have problem gaming at that resolution.

 

I bought my QHD model on Amazon and did not get hit with a restocking fee when I returned it.

 

The touchscreen on the QHD+ gets filthy very quickly if you use it as intended. Some games have scaling issues with the higher resolution, and if you use an external 1080p monitor/tv Windows will have trouble drawing icons and the start bar at a sensible size on both displays.

 

On Windows 8.1 if you go to charms menu --> change PC settings --> PC and devices --> display --> more options, you can modify the "change the size of apps, text, and other items on the screen" setting from standard to "larger" and it should resolve that issue for you. This is a common complaint with very high resolution Windows laptops because it's sort of a hidden setting.

 

Hi guy, can you guy help me if anyone of you guy own Razer Blade 14 FULL HD ver. I currently have Razer Blade 14 2013 edition, I want to upgrade to the FULL HD and I wonder if the Full HD version have extra slot for SSD like the 2013 ver.

 

It does not. Only has a single m2 80mm ssd slot.

 

Is the QHD+ also come with extra slot too ?

 

Im debating if i should get the blade Full HD, think itll be able to handle games like fallout 4 and future games for next 2-3 years? (i dont need ultra settings, just good FPS on it)

 

Just to update, Intel released a new driver recently that helps greatly with scaling problems on the QHD+, making it easier to reduce the resolution but keep the game full screen. Previously some games (For example Witcher 3, GTA5) would show a black border if you used a non-native resolution.

 

Actually all Intel drivers after the one that shipped with the RB supported that already.

 

Oh, okay. This post makes it look like forced application scaling was a new thing. https://communities.intel.com/message/310103#310103

 

There's definitely a new version of the driver that was released very recently.

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/do...HD-Graphics-Driver-for-Windows-7-8-8-1-64-bit

An the release notes, it does appear Forced Application Scaling is new..

http://downloadmirror.intel.com/24964/eng/ReleaseNotes_GFX_15 36 21 4222.pdf

IT WORKED! I couldn't get full screen to work in Witcher 3, but then I set the display options like so and it worked!

 

Weird. The method I've used for the last 6+ months has worked for every game.

 

I can't find the FHD version anywhere around where I live. There's not even an online store for the region. However I'd like to ask you all about the overheating problem. Is it something to worry about? Is it just an inconvenience or will it damage the laptop?

 

Stop asking the exact same question in every thread. You already created your own.

 

Thanks for your help. I only decided to post the new thread after asking the question on this.

 

I was a previous owner of the Blade 14, however ended up returning it after a couple of weeks due to the excessive heat and noise issues. I'm back to looking at the Blades again with the 2015 model. Can anyone who's used both give me an idea of what kind of improvements the 15 model has in regards to heat and noise over the 14? Based on what I've read, it seems as though the fans are just as loud on the QHD as the FHD - can anyone confirm?

Also, does anyone know if there is a way to adjust fan speeds from the Nvidia control panel? I believe you could do that in an older version of the software, but not sure if it's still available (or if it's available on this system as I remember the older versions were limited to certain configurations).

Lastly, scaling. Oh scaling. Are users finding the 15 model to work better with apps and games now? I'm a bit older and have an issue seeing things as clear on the screen. If the FHD model runs any cooler and/or quieter than the QHD, I will definitely be leaning in that direction.

I mainly play WoW and SW:TOR - do most of my "graphic intense" gaming on a console. Pretty much between this and the Aorus X5. Any input would be appreciated.

 

I own both a 2014 and 2015 QHD model (it's a long story...) and can tell you that my 2015 model is noticeably louder while running any game which pushes the capabilities of the machine (for example, GTA V or Dying Light running with mid-to-high settings and 1600x900 resolution). The performance on these games is about 25% better for me on the 2015 model, but the fans are louder and have a "whine" to them that the 2014 model did not have. As far as heat goes, temperature measurements of the CPU and GPU are roughly equal during gaming. As far as how hot the machine gets to the touch, I would have to say that Razer has improved things for the 2015 model. Even after extensive high-load gaming sessions, the 2015 is noticeably cooler to the touch than the 2014 model.